Amid hazing fallout, Lake Zurich turns to new protocols, key hirings

Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press

Kaine Osburn was hired in November 2015 and started his tenure as the Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 superintendent at the beginning of the 2016-17 school year. Osburn said the district's upcoming challenges include implementing protocols to prevent hazing and hiring a new athletic director and football coach.

Kaine Osburn was hired in November 2015 and started his tenure as the Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 superintendent at the beginning of the 2016-17 school year. Osburn said the district's upcoming challenges include implementing protocols to prevent hazing and hiring a new athletic director and football coach. (Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press)

Jakub RudnikPioneer Press

Two members of the 2016 Lake Zurich football team who say they were victims of hazing filed a federal lawsuit last week against Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 and various coaches and administrators.

Chicago attorney Antonio Romanucci, who is representing the players, said that the hazing included sexual assault and other degrading acts and resulted from a culture that dated back to 1997 and also reached the cross country and wrestling teams at some point during the last 20 years.

The incident that came to light in October, when a security guard reported "inappropriate behavior" in a Lake Zurich locker room, could continue to play out through the legal system in the months ahead. Aside from the lawsuit, an investigation by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was still ongoing as of Feb. 2.

Amid all of this, Lake Zurich administrators are trying to implement procedures to prevent future hazing incidents. Beyond that, there's the challenge of finding a new athletic director and football coach. Head football coach David Proffitt and assistant coach and student dean Chad Beaver — both of whom were placed on administrative leave before Lake Zurich's second-round Class 7A playoff game against Fenwick on Nov. 5 — resigned in January.

Athletic director Rolly Vazquez also submitted his resignation but will remain with the school through the end of the academic year. The Daily Herald reported in December that Lake Zurich principal Kent Nightlinger had announced his upcoming retirement, though Nightlinger said that decision is completely independent of any misconduct within the athletic department.

Proffitt, Beaver, Vazquez, volunteer coach William Stutzman and superintendent Kaine Osburn are among those named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Vazquez and Nightlinger did not respond to requests for comment.

In a phone interview last week, Osburn said that the school is already accepting applications to fill its football coach and athletic director vacancies and added that the positions could be filled in the next six weeks. He said he hopes the next principal could be hired soon enough to have some input about the next athletic director.

For the athletic director position, Osburn said administrators and coaches will be involved in the decision-making process. For the head coaching position, he wants to make sure that players and parents have input on the type of leader they're looking for.

Ultimately, it will be Osburn's and the newly hired principal's call to recommend a candidate for each position to the school board.

"We'll put out some means to gather feedback from parents and coaches and players about characteristics they're looking for in a next coach," Osburn said. "We'll use that with what we believe is important to develop a profile for hiring a coach."

At a Jan. 26 school board meeting, Osburn revealed the results and recommendations of a study by an Arlington Heights law firm in regard to the practice of hazing at Lake Zurich. The report did not detail the Oct. 27 event — which took place a full week before Proffitt and Beaver were placed on leave — but said it was an "isolated" incident, though not the only time football players displayed inappropriate behavior.

During the phone interview, Osburn said that educating administrators, coaches and athletes about hazing and how to identify hazing-related activities is critical to avoiding similar incidents in the future.

"The most important part is having the procedures and training in place to have students and staff recognize even small things that could lead to hazing," he said. "It's not just about identifying (hazing) when it happens, but doing things well beforehand that creates an environment where it won't happen."

He added that the recommendations outlined are a starting point for the district, and administrators will continue to evaluate procedures as needed.

"Those recommendations are really our blueprint to continue to assure that our kids are coming to school every day in a safe environment," Osburn said.

Dr. Susan Lipkins, a New York-based psychologist who has written a book on hazing and is a frequent expert witness at hazing-related trials, said in a phone interview that the recommendations Lake Zurich's administration have adopted should help combat hazing culture and create a safer environment for students. She added that anti-hazing education begins with top district administrators, coaches and teachers.

"It sounds like an excellent group of changes to be made, and I am happy to hear that the district is acknowledging the difficulties they've had in their program," Lipkins said. "It is up to them to implement the program every year."

Dr. Lipkins said that offering rewards for accurate tips, similar to a police hotline, also can be successful in encouraging the reporting of hazing activities. A tip line was one of the 13 recommendations the Arlington Heights law firm presented to District 95 officials.

"What will be key is who actually trains everyone about hazing, bullying and harassment," she said. "Who will be getting the anonymous tips? How will the interviewing of those tips happen? How will they explore those events? How will they protect people?"